The HT tyres also impact the capability to ford off road hurdles especially for total 4x4 novices like me.
I didn't change the tyres straight out of the showroom as has been my practice for the last three cars I owned. Multiple factors. Finances and the fact that the stock tyre look began to grow on me cause me to hang on to the tyres for almost 3 years and 28k kms. Couple that to the fact that highway performance was excellent and a yearning for the Evo Course Dakar Zero alloys in 16 inch meant that the decision was not a priority.
So what were the options? I have always been a big fan of the Geolanders so that was going to be my choice . Or so I thought. As I started to research the Continental Cross Contact and Bridgestone Dueller A/T 002 became strong options. 215/75 R15. Reports and videos of 235/70 R15 fouling with the mudguards put me off and I was perfectly fine with the look of 215/75 R15s. Given the performance of the stock Dueller and the fact that my trusted tyre shop was a Bridgestone dealer I decided on the A/T 002s. An off-road event at Wagamon sped up the replacement and my Jimny got shod with the Dueller A/T 002s.
Performance
The performance of the tyres can be split into two. Highway and rough road/off road.
On-road the stock Dueller actually perform better in all aspects except braking. The bigger contact patch of the A/T 002s provide more advantage in this regard. However the lowered rolling resistance of the stock Dueller offer better acceleration. The side walls of the A/T 002s flex more and are taller so when you accelerate I felt that a bit more energy tended to be absorbed by the tyres that slowed acceleration and pickup a bit. In a practical world this really does not matter much and is hardly an issue. The roll is a bit more thanks to the higher sidewalls and this needs to be taken into account as you need to be a little less aggressive on corners.
Off-road and on rough roads is where the A/T performance really shines through. I was simply amazed at how ruts and rough roads were damped by the A/Ts. Hard thuds on the stock Duellers were transformed to soft bumps at the most. I do not have much offloading experience. However I did a fun drive in Thodupuzha in 2025 and post the tyre change went to the offroad track at Dirty Drivez in Bangalore. Navigating though the track felt much more effortless with the A/Ts.
Looks
This is the number one reason for the tyre changes on my cars and the Bridgestone A/T 002 deliver 100% in this regard. The patterns on the tyre and the side wall lugs or "side biters" as Google AI informs me, look the business without being excessive macho. The writing indicating brand and model has an interesting aspect. While it is not colored in white and you have to look closely to read it when black, the writing becomes so much more legible when the tyre is dusty and a bit muddy. I am not sure but someone seems to have put some thought into this.
My cousin's Jimny on the left with 215/70 R15 Radar Renegades.
